New NRDC video animation shows risks of burning trees for energy

Our forests work hard for us ever day, absorbing and storing vast amounts of carbon. This makes forests one of our best defenses against global warming, one we Americans rely on to offset 13% of our annual greenhouse gas emissions each year. Unfortunately, power companies are increasingly turning to our forests for fuel , and they try to get away with it by claiming that trees are a “sustainable” and “carbon neutral” source of biomass. But trees are not the same as perennial grasses or harvest residues that can either regrow quickly, would otherwise be burned in the field, or are not needed for other purposes. We need trees. And we need full grown trees because saplings require decades of care before they can absorb the same amount of carbon dioxide as full grown trees. As if that weren’t reason enough, the science is also clear that harvesting and burning whole trees for ...